Guide to
Teaching
Fire Safety
to Students
with
Disabilities
Prepared under DHS/FEMA’s
Grant Program Directorate for
Assistance to Firefighters
Grant Program – Fire
Prevention and Safety Grants
EMW-2009-FP-01110
Michael H. Minger Foundation
PO Box 721
Niceville, Florida 32588
(850) 621-5161
September 13, 2011
Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
Contents
Forward...................................................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 2
1.0 Overview .............................................................................................................................. 3
1.1 Audience for this guide ..................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Students with disabilities................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Life-long skills ................................................................................................................... 3
1.4 Personal responsibility ...................................................................................................... 4
1.5 What this Guide is about ................................................................................................... 4
1.6 Resources available from the Michael H. Minger Foundation ........................................... 4
Videos ................................................................................................................................. 4
Research ............................................................................................................................ 5
2.0 Disabilities ............................................................................................................................ 6
2.1 Vision ............................................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Hearing ............................................................................................................................. 6
2.3 Mobility ............................................................................................................................. 6
2.4 Learning and developmental disorders ............................................................................. 7
3.0 Fire Safety Topics ................................................................................................................ 8
3.1 Concerns regarding fire safety and disabilities .................................................................. 8
3.2 Approaching the issue of fire safety for students with disabilities ...................................... 8
4.0 Social etiquette when working with people with disabilities ..................................................10
4.1 Interacting with people who are visually impaired or blind ................................................10
4.2 Interacting with people who are mobility impaired ............................................................12
4.3 Interacting with people who are deaf or hard of hearing...................................................13
4.4 Interacting with people who have a learning or developmental disorder ..........................16
5.0 Fire safety concerns relating to specific disabilities .............................................................19
5.1 All disabilities ...................................................................................................................19
Personal responsibility .......................................................................................................19
Smoke alarms ....................................................................................................................19
5.2 Visually impaired or blind .................................................................................................21
General information for students with visual impairments or are blind ................................21
Fire Prevention for students with visual impairments or are blind .......................................21
Fire Safety for students with visual impairments or are blind ..............................................22
5.3 Deaf or Hard of Hearing...................................................................................................25
General information for students who are deaf or hard of hearing ......................................25
Fire Prevention for students who are deaf or hard of hearing .............................................26
Fire Safety for students who are deaf or hard of hearing ....................................................26
5.4 Mobility impairment ..........................................................................................................29
General information for students with mobility impairments ................................................29
Fire Prevention for students with mobility impairments .......................................................30
Fire Safety for students with mobility impairments ..............................................................30
Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
5.5 Learning or developmental disorder.................................................................................33
General information for students with learning or developmental disorder..........................33
Fire Prevention for students with learning or developmental disorders ...............................34
Fire Safety for students with learning or developmental disorders ......................................34
6.0 Conclusion ..........................................................................................................................38
Appendix A Matrix of training concerns .....................................................................................39
Appendix B Resources..............................................................................................................41
Appendix C Personal Emergency Evacuation Planning Checklist .............................................46
Appendix D Residential Smoke Alarms for People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and People
With Disabilities.........................................................................................................................51
Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
FORWARD
With great passion for the work our foundation does in raising awareness about campus fire
safety, we are pleased to offer this guide as a tool for addressing fire safety concerns for
students with disabilities. As part of this project, we have had a great opportunity to work with
wonderful young people who live everyday with functional differences, and who have
enlightened us all about the challenges they face and given us a glimpse of how we can better
assist them. I am humbled by their courage and inspired by their strength to continue to look for
ways to improve fire safety conditions for all students.
We have much work to do. This is just the beginning of bridging a gap that has existed much too
long in addressing fire safety issues for our disabled students. The college students we have
worked with have hearing, sight or mobility impairments as well as a student with a learning
disorder, Aspergers which is often referred to as a “hidden disability.”
My son, Michael, was a student with a learning disorder. He was a serious student, with a 3.936
GPA, and he was very excited to have the opportunity to go to college. Michael was killed in a
residence hall fire and his learning disorder was a factor in his death.
Our mission is to continue to improve campus fire safety for all students, with a focus on our
students with disabilities. Our goal is to minimize their potential risk and save the other
Michaels that are attending colleges and universities across our nation.
Thank you so much for your commitment to making our campuses safer and for teaching these
vital fire safety messages to these students.
Gail L. Minger, President
Michael H. Minger Foundation
www.mingerfoundation.org
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
INTRODUCTION
Fire safety is something that everyone should have the opportunity to learn and practice. However, there
are different demographics for which there need to be different styles of teaching. Different ages, cultures
and abilities. For each of these different demographics it is important that the fire safety educator tailor
his or her teaching style to ensure that this life-saving information is understood and effectively
communicated. While the purpose of this Guide is to provide information on how to teach fire safety to
college and university students with disabilities, the information in this document can be used for a wide
range of people of any age, whether they are attending a college and university or not.
This Guide was developed under a Department of Homeland Security Fire Prevention and Safety Grant
awarded to the Michael H. Minger Foundation. The Foundation was formed to honor the life of Michael
H. Minger following his tragic death in an arson fire in a residence hall at Murray State University on
September 18, 1998. The purpose of the Foundation is to raise awareness and better educate the
millions of students attending colleges and universities across the nation about fire safety and was
established to address the needs of students with disabilities and how campus communities can better
serve this group of students. The Foundation strives to improve fire safety on college and university
campuses and, through these endeavors, save lives.
To help in guiding the progress of this grant, an Advisory Committee was formed of experts with a
diversity of backgrounds. Regular teleconferences were held with this Committee to keep them apprised
of the grant progress and for the project to benefit from their experience and their access to institutions of
higher education.
Advisory Committee
Richard Allegra
Director of Professional Development
Association on Higher Education and Disability
(AHEAD)
Huntersville, North Carolina
Michele Berg, PhD
Director, Center for Learning Disorders, Family
Service and Guidance Center
Topeka, Kansas.
Bill Cannata
Captain
Westwood Fire Department
Westwood, Massachusetts
William Crowley
Student
Marquette University
Joseph C. Dolson, President
Accessible Web Design
St. Paul, Minnesota
Marc Ellison
Associate Director of Training
West Virginia Autism Training Center
Marshall University
Marshall, West Virginia
Timothy A. Leidig
Deputy Chief
Mundelein Fire Department
Mundelein, Illinois
Shawn Longerich
Executive Director
Fire Smoke Coalition
Indianapolis, Indiana
Kevin Ply
Fire Chief
Purdue University Fire Department
West Lafayette, Indiana
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
Overseeing the grant was a project management team that was comprised of Gail Minger, president of
the Michael H. Minger Foundation and Ed Comeau, owner of writer-tech.com and publisher of Campus
Firewatch.
Mrs. Minger lost her son, Michael, in a residence hall arson fire in 1998 and since that time has become a
strong advocate for campus fire safety. She is a recognized national expert in the field and has been
instrumental in effecting change in Kentucky with the passage of the Michael Minger Act and nationally as
well. She is a member of the Board of Advisors for Security on Campus, was a member of the Board of
Directors for the Center for Campus Fire Safety and is Founding Advisory Board Member for Common
Voices, a fire safety advocacy organization comprised of fire safety survivors and parents which was
awarded the Paul Sarbanes Fire Service Safety Leadership Award. She is also the recipient of the
Jeanne Clery Advocate of the Year Award.
Mr. Comeau is the former chief fire investigator for the National Fire Protection Association, current
publisher of Campus Firewatch, and founder and former director of the non-profit Center for Campus Fire
Safety. He is the author of the chapter on campus fire safety for the NFPA Fire Protection Handbook and
organizer of the annual National Campus Fire Safety Month campaign each September. He has worked
on a number of educational programs including To Hell and Back: College Fire Survival and Graduation:
Fatally Denied. He was selected to serve on the U.S. Department of Education committee developing the
regulations for the Campus Fire Safety Right-to-Know Law as a representative of the Minger Foundation.
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
1.0 OVERVIEW
This guide was developed under a grant awarded from the DHS/FEMA’s Grant Program Directorate for
Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program to the Michael H. Minger Foundation
(www.mingerfoundation.org). The goal of this guide is to provide information to assist in teaching fire
safety to students with disabilities.
1.1 Audience for this guide
The intended audience for this guide is campus and community fire safety educators and others that may
be tasked with teaching fire safety to students with disabilities. This guide is for those that have
knowledge in fire safety education but may not have experience in teaching it to students with disabilities.
For this reason, this guide does not go in depth into basic fire safety information which can be found
elsewhere, such as at the U.S. Fire Administration (www.ufsa.dhs.gov) or the National Fire Protection
Association (www.nfpa.org). What it does focus on is how to interact with these students and how this
basic fire safety information may need to be tailored to address the needs of these students.
1.2 Students with disabilities
There are many definitions of disabled and, for your purposes, a definition does not matter. What matters
is that you have a person who has a functional disability (hearing, visual, mobility, learning/developmental
disorder) that you need to address in making sure they know what to do to prevent a fire and what to do
in the event that one breaks out.
It is important to also include caregivers in this training as well as the student. A caregiver is a vital part of
any fire safety plan for students with disabilities and these people should know, just as much as the
student, how to prevent a fire and what to do in the event that one breaks out.
It is unknown exactly what impact disabilities have on the number of fire deaths and injuries. The U.S.
Fire Administration has made an effort to identify the impact of disabilities through two recent
publications, Residential Building Fires Involving Individuals with Physical Disabilities (June 2011) and
Residential Building Fires Involving Individuals with Mental Disabilities (June 2011), both available from
the Minger Foundation’s web site.
What is important to note in these reports is that the number of fires, deaths, injuries and property
damage reported is an extremely small percentage of all residential fires that occur each year in the
United States. This information was taken from the National Fire Incident Reporting System which is a
voluntary national reporting system that not all fire departments use. For this reason, there are gaps in
the reporting system which necessitate making estimates as to the full scope of the data. Given the
relatively extremely small number of fires and the gap in the reporting system, the relevance of the data in
relation to real-world experience may be inconsistent.
1.3 Life-long skills
What you are teaching these students is for life, not just while they are attending college. They will
always need to know about two ways out, smoke alarms, sprinklers and cooking fire safety. This also
applies no matter where they are, whether it is their residence hall, apartment, house, nightclub, movie
theater or restaurant. What is important to emphasize is that this knowledge is something they will always
need, now and long into the future. After all, fire safety, it’s a part of living!
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
1.4 Personal responsibility
Everyone, whether they have a disability or not, has a personal responsibility for their own fire safety. It is
society’s and the school’s responsibility to provide students with a fire safe environment. However, it is
the student’s responsibility to be personally fire safe by knowing how to prevent a fire and what to do if
one should break out.
The student is responsible for finding fire safe housing, whether it is on- or off-campus and ensuring that it
is maintained in a safe condition. This includes factors such as ensuring that the smoke alarms are
always operational, for example.
It is also the student’s responsibility to seek help and learn and practice the skills they need before a fire.
It is important to emphasize that no matter how fire safety he or she may be, that may not always be the
case with others around them and could place them in danger with their unsafe fire behavior.
1.5 What this Guide is about
This Guide is about
 How to tailor the discussion to the person’s specific needs
 How to communicate effectively with students with disabilities
 Specific requirements that may be needed to ensure the person’s fire safety.
It is not possible in this guide to address every fire safety issue or all of the different disabilities that exist.
This guide focuses on four general areas of disability:
 Vision
 Hearing
 Mobility
 Learning or developmental disorders
The material provided by this project should be used in conjunction with other appropriate educational
material.
1.6 Resources available from the Michael H. Minger Foundation
As part of this project, the Minger Foundation has developed several tools to assist the fire safety
educator.
Videos
Five videos are available at www.mingerfoundation.org. Four of them feature students with different
disabilities talking about fire safety. These are all closed-captioned and available for viewing through the
Minger Foundation web site.




Hearing – Sarah Honigfeld
Vision – Carey Scouler
Mobility – Shari Zakim
Learning and Developmental Disorders – Ian Miller
The fifth video is a train-the-trainer production that features each of the students talking about how to best
teach them fire safety. It also features a narrative from Captain Bill Cannata who has an autistic son and
teaches first responders how to deal with people with autism during emergencies.
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
These videos were filmed and produced by a team of recent graduates from Emerson College who
brought a vital, real-world perspective of student fire safety to the project through their production
company is Handheld Studios (www.handheldstudios.com)
 Matthew Hashiguchi
 Rachel Rynderman
 Elaine McMillion
 Nathaniel Hansen
Research
The Minger Foundation has compiled an extensive (and growing) library of research focusing on fire
safety for people with disabilities that is available on at www.mingerfoundation.org. The listing of
documents, at the time of publication of this guide, is included in Appendix B.
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
NOTES
2.0 DISABILITIES
As mentioned earlier, this guide focuses on four general areas of
disabilities.
2.1 Vision
Visual
People with visual impairment have a medical
condition or impairment that impedes their ability
1
to have aided or unaided vision.
Blind
People who are blind have a medical condition
or impairment that completely impedes their
2
ability to have aided or unaided vision.
2.2 Hearing
Deaf
People who are deaf may have either a medical
condition or impairment that impedes their ability
3
to hear.
Hard of Hearing
People who are hard of hearing may have been
born hard of hearing or have lost their ability to
hear later in life. They may use assistive
devices, such as hearing aids, but when they
4
remove these devices they are deaf.
2.3 Mobility
People with mobility impairment have a disability
or medical condition that impedes their ability to
stand aided or unaided without support of an
5
assistive device.
1
Fire Safety Solutions for People with Disabilities, Oklahoma State University, p 4 www.mingerfoundation.org/projects/fire-safetyinfo/downloadable-resources/
2
ibid.
3
ibid.
4
ibid.
5
ibid.
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NOTES
2.4 Learning and developmental disorders
Individuals with learning disorders have normal
intelligence but have trouble with academic
and/or social learning. They may have trouble
with reading or mathematics or spatial
information. Learning disorders includes
individuals with Asperger Disorder; these
individuals have trouble understanding voice
tone, gestures, facial expressions, and other
social communications. They may be disturbed
by loud noises, bright lights, or crowds of
people. Individuals with Attention Deficit
Disorder are included in this category. These
individuals may have trouble planning ahead or
6
thinking carefully before taking an action.
6
Personal communication, Dr. Michele Berg, Family Service and Guidance Center
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NOTES
3.0 FIRE SAFETY TOPICS
Three fire safety/prevention topics were selected after asking
campus fire safety experts across the nation what were the
topics they felt were underserved and the most needed.



Egress
Cooking
Fire safety equipment
o Automatic fire sprinklers
o Smoke alarms
This guide does not provide comprehensive information about
each of these fire safety topics but focuses on the impact that a
person’s disability may have. This guide should be used with
other resources and information available from organizations
such as the U.S. Fire Administration or the National Fire
Protection Association in teaching this material.
3.1 Concerns regarding fire safety and disabilities
Depending upon the disability, or disabilities, a person may have,
a fire safety plan may have to be tailored to their specific needs.
For example, for a person who is deaf or hard of hearing, special
devices may be needed to alert them to a fire.
These modifications may also depend upon the type of building
they are living in. For example, if someone uses a wheelchair
and depends upon an elevator to normally access the upper
floors of a building, a plan should be developed for when an
elevator is not available during an emergency evacuation.
3.2 Approaching the issue of fire safety for
students with disabilities
First and foremost, talk with the student and ask:
 What are their concerns about fire safety in relation to
their lifestyle
 What provisions might need to be made for them in
relation to their disability
 Ask how they can help you help them be fire safe
Developing a dialogue with the student to learn more about his
or her concerns and needs is a critical step in developing a fire
safety training program and a fire safety plan. The NFPA has
developed a Personal Emergency Evacuation Planning Checklist
(Appendix C) that can assist you and the student in identifying
potential concerns before the emergency.
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
NOTES
Determine the student’s needs BEFORE the training session.
For example, you need to determine if
 You will need a sign language interpreter for a student
that is deaf or hard of hearing
 There are access difficulties with the facility that may
impact someone who is mobility impaired
 Your presentation is heavily visually-based which will not
be as effective with someone who is visually impaired
 You have students that have learning disorders for which
you will have to take a different approach. For example,
a student with reading problems may learn more easily
through listening. You can read text on slides or other
materials aloud. A student with Asperger disorder may
be distracted or anxious if there is a large group present
and may need a place to sit that is somewhat away from
the group.
 You may also get guidance from the school’s Office of
Disabilities Services. Every school is mandated to have
someone who is responsible for providing disabilities
services to the students. Staff in the Office of Disabilities
Services is invested in the safety of their students, are
willing to help, and are very knowledgeable about a
broad range of disabilities and instructional strategies
that are effective with students with disabilities.
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NOTES
4.0 SOCIAL ETIQUETTE WHEN WORKING WITH
PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Some people are unfamiliar with how to interact with people with
disabilities and unintentionally may say or do something that is
inappropriate. There are some simple guidelines that you can
follow in your interactions to avoid this from happening (the
following material is taken from Fire Safety Solutions for People
with Disabilities developed by Oklahoma State University. This
document is available at www.mingerfoundation.org.)
 Use “People First” language. Say “a person who is deaf”
and not “deaf person.”
 Say “people with disabilities” as opposed to
“handicapped, challenged or special”
 Avoid making assumptions about someone and their
disability.
 Try to give people with disabilities options rather than
dictating what they must do.
 Disregard the idea that you are saving people with
disabilities. Many are self-reliant.
 Greeting people with disabilities. You can use common
expressions such as “see you later,” or “Did you hear
about that?” Don’t be embarrassed.
4.1 Interacting with people who are visually
impaired or blind7
Social Etiquette for people who have visual impairments or
are blind
 Tell the student when you leave, even if for a minute.
Tell them how long you will be gone.
 Identify to whom you are speaking if there is a group of
people present.
 Explain to people with visual disabilities where you will
place tools or other objects that you may be using.
 Do not move items without telling people with visual
impairments.
 Walk on the opposite side of the person who is using a
service animal.
 If people with visual impairments use a cane and have
set it down, do not move it, ask them to move it
themselves.
7
Fire Safety Solutions for People with Disabilities, Oklahoma State University, Appendix F, p. 5.
www.mingerfoundation.org/projects/fire-safety-info/downloadable-resources/
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NOTES
Greetings for people who have visual impairments or are
blind
 When you approach people with visual impairments,
state clearly who you are in a normal tone of voice.
 When extending a handshake, say “let’s shake hands,”
so people with visual impairments know what you are
doing.
 Announce your presence by speaking first. Touch
people with visual impairments lightly on the arm to
indicate exactly where you are located. Sometimes it is
difficult for them to determine exactly where you are
because the acoustics of rooms vary.
 Look directly at people with visual impairments. This
may feel awkward at first because you are used to
having direct eye contact with the person with whom you
are speaking. People with visual impairments may not
be used to looking directly at you, but you should still
practice direct eye contact. If you keep direct eye
contact, you help people with visual impairments stay
focused on where you are in the room. In addition, if you
keep direct eye contact, you ensure that you will be
more easily heard because you are speaking directly to
them.
Providing directions to people who have visual impairments
or are blind
 Provide people with visual impairments verbal directions.
Do not grab their arm and attempt to guide them.
 When giving directions, be specific. For example, if you
are approaching steps, state how many steps and if the
steps go up or down.
 Avoid giving directions that are clarified through body
language. For example, if you say “over there,” you
mean “look where I am pointing.” If you say “by the
green dumpster,” you are giving a visual clue. Instead,
say “Take twelve steps forward, turn to your right, and
take six steps forward” or “Just to the right of the
dumpster which is twelve steps from your back exit.”
You can use shape descriptions if doing so will assist
people with visual impairments in understanding the size
of an object.
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NOTES
4.2 Interacting with people who are mobility
impaired8
Social Etiquette with people who are mobility impaired
 If possible, place yourself at eye level with people with
mobility impairments, preventing them from getting a
kink in their neck. If you cannot lower yourself to eye
level, you need to allow enough distance between
yourself and people with mobility impairments so not to
force their head into an awkward position.
 The taller you are, the more distance you should allow.
If the conversation will take awhile, find a chair.
 When talking to people with mobility impairments, sit
directly in front of them. Sometimes it is difficult for them
to turn their body in the wheelchair to see you.
 Never pat them on the head or shoulder. You would
never pat anyone else on the head; it is degrading.
 Do not lean on the wheelchair, or any other assistive
devices (canes, walkers, etc.). Assistive devices are an
extension of their personal space.
 Try to give people with mobility impairments options
rather than telling them what to do. Then they can adapt
to fit their needs and abilities.
 Do not assume all exits work with all types of mobility
devices. Wheelchairs vary in size and functionality.
Make sure you develop exit routes with assistive devices
in mind. If people with mobility impairments indicate that
a pathway is not accessible, respect their authority on
the matter. People with mobility impairments have
accurate knowledge about how their assistive
technology functions in their own home.
 Do not place any items on the desktop of people with
mobility impairments, if they have one attached to the
wheelchair. This is inconsiderate unless they offer first.
Greetings with people who are mobility impaired
 Extend your hand for the usual handshake greeting. Let
people with mobility impairments decide how long and
the strength of the handshake. It may seem awkward at
first. Remember, shaking hands indicates that you
respect people with mobility impairments.
Providing Directions to people who are mobility impaired
 Do not assume that people with mobility impairments
want you to push their wheelchair. Ask first.
8
Ibid Appendix F, p. 7
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NOTES
4.3 Interacting with people who are deaf or hard of
hearing9
Although people who are deaf or hard of hearing may not be
able to hear you, it is important that you speak clearly and face
them when you are speaking with them.
People who are deaf often communicate through American Sign
language (ASL). ASL is a unique language, just like Spanish or
Russian. You will not be able to intuitively translate because
ASL has unique syntax (the ordering of the words is not the
same as in English). You may have to work with an interpreter.
When you speak, the interpreter will translate what you say to
the person who is deaf. Therefore, you should expect your
interactions to take twice as long.
Social Etiquette for people who are deaf or hard of hearing
 Ask people who are deaf or hard of hearing what their
preferred method of communication is if they do not tell
you. There are three methods by which people who are
deaf or hard of hearing may want to communicate: lip
reading, sign language, and written language. People
who are deaf or hard of hearing should decide which
communication method to use and should reserve the
right to change communication methods during your
visit. Lip reading is fatiguing for those who are deaf or
hard of hearing, so you should keep the conversation
short and concise. A person who is lip reading may only
get 30-50% of what you say. Be patient and
understanding.
 Make eye contact and hold up your hand to get the
attention of the person before speaking. This alerts
them that you wish to speak with them.
 Literacy is not a gauge of intelligence, and English is the
second language of people with hearing impairments.
People who are deaf or hard of hearing may have
difficulty reading and writing in English because
American Sign Language has a different structure and
set of rules.
 Do not write in the air. No one, hearing or otherwise, can
remember air-written letters and words. Use paper and
pencil in such cases.
 Do not stand between people who are deaf or hard of
hearing and the interpreter. If you do this, you are
interrupting the conversation, which is rude. If you must
pass through, do so quickly.
 If people who are deaf or hard of hearing use a hearing
aid, ask them if there are any background noise
distractions. They may request that you minimize these
noises. For example, if you are wearing a radio, the
static noise may create too much background noise.
 Try to give people who are deaf or hard of hearing
options rather than telling them what to do.
9
Ibid, Appendix F
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NOTES



Avoid showing impatience because less assertive
people who are deaf or hard of hearing may indicate
they understand concepts that they do not understand.
Why? They say they understand to avoid conflict.
Explain any interruption before attending to it. For
example, if your cell phone rings, excuse yourself first.
Avoid saying “Never mind” or “It’s not important” when
people who are deaf or hard of hearing do not
understand. This is insulting because it is often seen as
an indication that they do not deserve the patience
involved in repeated communication processes.
Greetings for people that are deaf or hard of hearing
 Speak clearly in a normal tone of voice. Do not
exaggerate your lip movements.
 Remember, not all people who are deaf or hard of
hearing can read lips. If they do read lips, they will
struggle to understand how you articulate your words.
Still, do not exaggerate or change the way you speak.
 Do not chew gum or tobacco. Remove your sunglasses,
so people who are deaf or hard of hearing can see your
eyes.
 Avoid touching your face while speaking. This prevents
people who are deaf or hard of hearing from seeing your
mouth.
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Requesting Information from people who are deaf or hard of
hearing
 Use short, simple sentences.
 Do not fluctuate the volume of your speech.
 When you seek a lot of information, ask for feedback to
make sure you are understood. You may have to repeat
your request verbatim several times. When you request
something complex, give people who are deaf or hard of
hearing examples.
Giving directions to people who are deaf or hard of hearing
 Use short, simple sentences.
 Do not fluctuate the volume of your speech. When you
have a lot of information to convey, ask people who are
deaf or hard of hearing for feedback to make sure they
understand. You may have to repeat information
verbatim several times. When you talk about something
complex, give examples.
 Try to give people who are deaf or hard of hearing
options rather than telling them what to do.
Working with an interpreter for people who are deaf or hard
of hearing
 Speak directly to people who are deaf or hard of hearing,
not the interpreter. Remember, the people who are deaf
or hard of hearing are the people with whom you are
speaking.
 Do not fluctuate the volume of your speech.
 When you have a lot of information to convey, ask
people who are deaf or hard of hearing for feedback to
make sure they understand. Sometimes information is
lost during the interpretation process. You may have to
repeat information verbatim several times. When you
talk about something complex, give them examples.
 Plan for frequent breaks. Interpreting is physically and
mentally demanding because the interpreter translates
the information into another language.
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NOTES
4.4 Interacting with people who have a learning or
developmental disorder10
Social Etiquette for people who have a learning or
developmental disorder
 There is no special etiquette that must be observed
when working with students with learning or
developmental disorders. These students have normal
intelligence, normal hearing and vision, and normal
mobility. Their disorder is often “invisible” and you most
likely will not be aware of their area of difficulty upon first
meeting. The exception will be the students with
Nonverbal Learning Disorder or Asperger Disorder
(which is on the Autism spectrum) as students with these
disorders will likely appear very awkward socially and
may have difficulty understanding or responding to your
social communications.
Greeting for people that have a learning or developmental
disorder
 Students with learning disorders that are primarily
related to problems with reading, math, written language,
or attention have social skills that range from being very
outgoing and socially sophisticated to being somewhat
socially awkward. In other words like most people you
meet. Greet the student with a learning disorder as you
would greet anyone else. It will help the student if you
state clearly who you are, what you do, and the purpose
of your work with the student. “Hi, I’m Tom. I am a fire
fighter and today I am going to help you learn about fire
safety in your school residence and in public places.”
 Students with Asperger Disorder and students with a
Nonverbal Learning Disorder are usually very awkward
socially. They may have trouble understanding voice
tone and some social gestures. Some of these students
will not be comfortable with eye contact or physical
contact. If you extend your hand for an introductory
handshake and the student does not respond, simply
drop your arm and continue with the verbal introduction.
The student does not intend to be rude but may find
touching your hand to be too anxiety producing. These
students also have trouble understanding anything that
is not stated directly. State clearly who you are, what
you do, and the purpose of your work with the student.
10
Personal communication, Dr. Michele Berg
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NOTES
Providing Directions to people that have a learning or
developmental disorder
 The strengths and weaknesses of students with learning
disorders related to academics can vary greatly from one
student to another. Some will have trouble remembering
what he/she hears and may need you to speak slowly
and repeat important information. Some students do
very well with listening but have trouble with information
that they need to read and remember. Some students
have trouble understanding visual information or get
confused by spatial directions such as “left” and “right” or
“north” and south”.
 A teaching style that allows the students with a learning
disorder the opportunity to use multiple learning paths
should work well with students with learning disabilities.
Speak slowly and clearly. Do not use a lot of jargon (you
should not, anyway, no matter who the audience is). If
you use slides or visual information, read the information
out loud and explain what the visual information means.
If you are not sure that the student has understood, have
the student tell you in his/her own words the important
points that you have presented.
Interacting with Students with Learning or Developmental
Disorders
 Students with Asperger Disorder and Nonverbal
Learning Disorder often have trouble understanding
jokes and can be very literal. For example, if you
jokingly say, “when you hear the fire alarm, run for the
hills!”, the student may think he/she is literally supposed
to run to the nearest hill. It is important to use very clear
simple and straight-forward language. These students
can have very advanced vocabularies but have trouble
with figures of speech and language that is too abstract.
Avoid sarcasm as these students often do not
understand sarcasm and may be confused by it.
 Students with Asperger Disorder are often unaware of
how their behavior affects those around them. If you are
working with a group of students, this student may
become too talkative and may need you to (kindly and in
a warm manner) set limits on their participation. For
example you may say, ”Since we have limited time, you
may ask three questions. If you have additional
questions, you and I can talk together after the class.”
Some students with Asperger Disorder or Nonverbal
Learning Disorder may appear withdrawn and aloof;
however, lack of eye contact does not necessarily mean
that the student is not interested and is not listening.
 Students with attention problems may have trouble
focusing on what you are saying even though they are
interested in the topic. A simple handout that provides
the key points that you are covering will help the student
track what you are saying. Some students who are
hyperactive will be better able to pay attention if they can
also move around or “fidget” while you are talking.
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NOTES




Again, the student should help you identify what they
feel would be helpful in the fire safety learning situation.
For hands-on experiences, such as if you are
demonstrating how to use a fire extinguisher, remember
that some students with learning disorders have trouble
with coordination and/or managing mechanical tasks.
These students may need several attempts before they
are successful and will appreciate encouragement,
support, and re-statement/simplification of instructions.
Some students will do best by watching you demonstrate
but others may do better with simple clearly sequenced
verbal instructions.
Many students with learning disorders have spatial
problems. The statement, “the fire exit door is about 10
feet to the left of the entrance to the cafeteria” may be
impossible for such students to visualize. They may
need to not only physically locate the fire exit but to also
attach the location to something they can remember
verbally, such as “the fire exit door is on the same side
of the wall as the elevator door. It is by the window that
faces the pond. There is a red sign over the exit door.”
Please be aware that while some students will be able to
remember fairly lengthy verbal cues, others will need
simple and short verbal cues.
Also remember that you cannot assume that a student
with a learning disorder will generalize what they learn.
Point out important generalizations such as “The fire exit
door is located at both ends of the hallway on every
floor”.
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NOTES
5.0 FIRE SAFETY CONCERNS RELATING TO
SPECIFIC DISABILITIES
5.1 All disabilities
An important point to recognize is that there are a number of
students that may have multiple disabilities and the training that
you deliver may have to be tailored to address these factors.
This is another example of why it is so important to talk with the
student and learn what situation they are in and what fire safety
challenges they may face.
Personal responsibility
Everyone, whether they have an impairment or not, is
responsible for their own fire safety. All students are responsible
for choosing fire-safe housing, knowing how to prevent a fire and
knowing how to react if a fire should break out, no matter where
they are.
It is society’s responsibility to provide students with safe
buildings to live and work in, but unfortunately, this does not
always happen. . Students should learn how to recognize
unsafe conditions in any building, be it a residence hall,
apartment, restaurant, movie theater - any place they may be.
Fires can happen at any time and no matter how fire-safe an
individual they may be, this is not always the case for others
around them. They may have nothing to do with a fire starting,
but they need to know how to react when one does occur.
The skills that students learn are for life. They will always need
to know these skills even after they leave college.
Smoke alarms
Smoke alarms are a vital part of any fire safety plan. There is a
great deal of discussion presently going on regarding the
appropriate type of smoke alarm to use and the following is a
very brief summary of smoke alarm attributes.
A smoke alarm is a stand-alone unit that both detects smoke and
sounds an alarm. These are the ones that are commonly found
in a home. A smoke detector is a unit that is connected to a fire
alarm system, such as that in a residence hall. It detects smoke
and sends a signal to the fire alarm system which, in turn,
activates devices on the system such as horns and strobes.
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NOTES
There are two types of smoke alarms generally available that
use different sensing technology to detect smoke.
Photoelectric
Generally better at detecting slower, smoldering fires. Will
also detect faster, flaming fires. They are better at not
being activated by normal cooking activity.
Ionization
Generally better at detecting faster, flaming fires. Will also
detect slower, smoldering fires. They are more prone to
being activated by normal cooking smoke.
There are also smoke alarms that incorporate both types of
technology into one unit. However, these units are not
necessarily an optimal solution since the sensitivity of the two
sensors can be adjusted to minimize false alarms which can
reduce their ability to detect dangerous conditions equal to a
single-sensor unit.
There is a great deal of discussion in the fire safety community
over which type of detector is “better.” Both will detect smoke,
the question is which one will react quicker. There is a growing
movement across the country with jurisdictions beginning to
move towards photoelectric smoke alarms because they are
more suited to detecting smoldering fires and are not as prone to
be disabled because of unwanted or nuisance alarms.
Photoelectric smoke alarms tend to cost slightly more than
ionization, but not significantly. Ionization are the more common
smoke alarms in place in most homes.
Fire alarm systems, such as you might find in a residence hall,
are generally equipped with photoelectric smoke detectors.
The leading cause of fatal fires is smoking materials, which can
often start as a smoldering fire, which photoelectric smoke
alarms are better at detecting. The leading cause of residential
fires is cooking fires, where photoelectric smoke alarms are less
prone to false-alert.
Research has also shown that photoelectric smoke alarms are
less likely to be disabled by the occupant because of false
alarms.
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NOTES
5.2 Visually impaired or blind
General information for students with visual impairments or
are blind
It is important to realize that students with visual impairments or
are blind can be found anywhere and everywhere. There should
not be any assumption as to where they might be living (such as
on the first floor of a building).
The goal of the fire safety training is to provide students with
visual impairments or who are blind the information they need to
keep themselves safe through their own personal responsibility
for fire safety.
While the person with visual impairment or blind may be very
independent, there are times when they are going to need some
assistance, be it simply having someone identify the exits for
them when they enter a room or building, or leading them out
during an emergency in an unfamiliar occupancy.
There is a difference between someone who has been visually
impaired all of their life and someone who has recently become
visually impaired.
 Someone who has been visually impaired all of their life
is comfortable with living in a world without vision.
 Someone who has recently become visually impaired
may be going through the transition and learning how to
live and navigate in a new world. Fire safety may not be
11
something that is typically covered during this process.
The following information is in addition to that which would
normally be taught regarding egress, cooking safety, smoke
alarms and sprinklers.
Fire Prevention for students with visual impairments or are
blind
As with all demographics, preventing the fire from occurring in
12
the first place is the most effective fire prevention strategy. If
there is no fire, then there is no need for smoke alarms or
sprinklers to come into play or to need to escape from a smokefilled building.
11
Fire Risks for the Blind or Visually Impaired, FEMA 1999, p 13
Ibid, p 12
12
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NOTES
Cooking
Students with a visual impairment or are blind may have a higher
chance of accidentally starting a fire through ordinary activities,
such as cooking, for example, because they may not observe
13
hazards such as combustibles next to the stove. Students with
visual impairments or are blind may not necessarily observe a
fire in its incipient stages or be able to take the proper steps to
14
extinguish the fire.






Cooking is the leading cause of all residential fires and
one of the significant contributing factors is unattended
cooking.
The area around where they are cooking should be clear
of any combustibles such as paper towels, grocery bags,
etc.
The student should not be wearing any loose clothing
that may catch fire such as a scarf, or a sweatshirt with
baggy sleeves.
It is important to emphasize to all students, not just those
with disabilities, that once they start cooking they must
stay with the food until it is done. If they must leave the
room, they must turn off the appliance that they are
using (stove, oven, portable skillet, toaster oven, etc.).
Students with visual impairments or are blind might not
see a fire in its incipient stages or as it is growing until
the smoke alarm is activated and may not realize what
action is needed to suppress the fire.
If a smoke alarm is accidentally activated while cooking,
use the hush feature to temporarily silence it or fan the
smoke away from the smoke alarm. Do NOT every
remove the batteries or take down the smoke alarm –
clear out the smoke instead.
Fire Safety for students with visual impairments or are blind
Egress
Students with visual impairments or are blind may not be able to
assess the level of smoke buildup and be able to make a
decision as to whether it is safe to move through a smoke-filled
room or corridor to escape.
On the other hand, a blind person is used to navigating through
their environment without visual cues so he or she may have an
advantage over a sighted person in getting out of a smoky
environment (assuming the smoke is not so severe that it does
not overcome the person).
Students with visual impairments or are blind rely on audible
cues when they are navigating. In a high-noise environment,
such as may occur when a fire alarm system or smoke alarms
13
Ibid
Ibid
14
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NOTES
have been activated, it may be difficult for them to use audible
15
cues.
Most students, when evacuating a building, usually use the same
route that they take when they enter a building and are not
familiar with a secondary route. This is the time to make the
student familiar with it. In addition, secondary routes are often
those that are not frequently used by the occupants and they
may contain a number of obstacles or storage that present a
problem during evacuation such as bicycles, recycling
containers, storage, etc. If this can’t be done with the instructor,
the student should be encouraged to do this on their own as
soon as possible. This should become a habit whenever they
move into a new place and periodically to make sure the exit
route is still clear.
Whenever they enter a building or room with which they are not
familiar they should ask someone to identify for them where the
second exit is located.
Areas of refuge
Depending upon a building’s design, it may contain designated
areas of refuge. These are areas where people who would have
difficulty evacuating a building can gather and be protected from
16
the fire.
Even though it may not be designated as such, there may be
areas that can be used as an area of refuge, such as a large
stairwell landing. It is important that the person taking shelter
there not impeded the evacuation of others.
If the person must take shelter in an area of refuge it is vital to let
the fire department know. This can be done by a phone (some
areas of refuge may have a phone or by cell phone) or having
someone who is evacuating tell the fire fighters. It is safer to
have several people tasked with this responsibility to make sure
the message is passed.
15
Ibid
Ibid, p 5
16
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NOTES
Shelter in place
There may be situations where it is safer to “shelter in place”
because the conditions on the primary and secondary egress
routes are impassable. It is important to teach students with
disabilities what to do when they might be forced to shelter in
place.
 Close the door
 Alert someone that they are trapped by using a phone
(landline or cell), calling out the window or yelling
 Do NOT break out the window unless absolutely
necessary. The person can get injured doing this and
also it may now allow smoke to enter the room. It is OK
to open the window, if it can be closed again, to alert
people outside or for fresh air.
 Place something such as a rolled up towel at the base of
the door to stop smoke from entering the room.
 If available, putting tape on the cracks on the door will
also help stop smoke from entering the room.
 Do not reopen the door to check conditions unless
absolutely necessary. This can allow smoke and heat
into the room.
Smoke alarms
Everyone should live in housing equipped with either smoke
alarms or smoke detectors. If a person with visual impairment is
living in an apartment or private residence, they should be taught
how to test and replace the batteries in a smoke alarm (this is
covered in the video made as part of this program available on
www.mingerfoundation.org). Smoke alarms/detectors provide
the early warning that is vital in reacting to a fire.
Automatic fire sprinklers
Automatic fire sprinklers will provide an unparalleled level of
safety if a fire should break out. A sprinkler system will control or
extinguish the fire and sound an alarm, providing notification to
the occupants and to the fire department. When there may be
the potential for a delayed response to a fire or an alarm,
sprinklers can provide the additional time that might be needed.
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NOTES
5.3 Deaf or Hard of Hearing
General information for students who are deaf or hard of
hearing
It is important to realize that students who are deaf or hard of
hearing can be found anywhere and everywhere. There should
not be any assumption as to where they might be living (such as
on the first floor of a building).
The goal of the fire safety training is to provide students who are
deaf or hard of hearing the information they need to keep
themselves safe through their own personal responsibility for fire
safety.
Text messaging is a key method of communication for students
who are deaf or hard of hearing. Many schools, as a result of
the Virginia Tech tragedy, have implemented alerting systems
that involve sending out either broad-based or focused text
messages. However, these cannot be depended upon as a
reliable and consistent means of communication as the end user
may have to “opt in” to the system, he or she may not have their
phone with them, etc.
Some specific concerns include:
 During an emergency, students who have a hearing
impairment may not immediately hear the alarm and
react promptly.
 They may not be able to hear verbal instructions and
respond properly.
 This may be particularly problematic if a building is
equipped with a fire alarm system that gives audible
directions for evacuation.
 This may also be an issue when a fire fighter who is
wearing breathing apparatus is attempting to give
instructions but his or her lips are obscured by the mask,
not allowing the person who is hearing impaired to read
lips.
The following information is in addition to that which would
normally be taught regarding egress, cooking safety, smoke
alarms and sprinklers.
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
NOTES
Fire Prevention for students who are deaf or hard of hearing
As with all demographics, preventing the fire from occurring in
17
the first place is the most effective fire prevention strategy. If
there is no fire, then there is no need for smoke alarms or
sprinklers to come into play or to need to escape from a smokefilled building.
Cooking






Cooking is the leading cause of all residential fires and
one of the significant contributing factors is unattended
cooking.
The area around where they are cooking should be clear
of any combustibles such as paper towels, grocery bags,
etc.
The student should not be wearing any loose clothing
that may catch fire such as a scarf, or a sweatshirt with
baggy sleeves.
It is important to emphasize to all students, not just those
with disabilities, that once they start cooking they must
stay with the food until it is done. If they must leave the
room, they must turn off the appliance that they are
using (stove, oven, portable skillet, toaster oven, etc.).
Students with hearing impairments might not hear a fire
in its incipient stages or as it is growing until the smoke
alarm is activated..
If a smoke alarm is accidentally activated while cooking,
use the hush feature to temporarily silence it or fan the
smoke away from the smoke alarm. Do NOT every
remove the batteries or take down the smoke alarm –
clear out the smoke instead.
Fire Safety for students who are deaf or hard of hearing
Egress
Most students, when evacuating a building, usually use the same
route that they take when they enter a building and are not
familiar with a secondary route. This is the time to make the
student familiar with it. In addition, secondary routes are often
those that are not frequently used by the occupants and they
may contain a number of obstacles or storage that present a
problem during evacuation such as bicycles, recycling
containers, storage, etc. If this can’t be done with the instructor,
the student should be encouraged to do this on their own as
soon as possible. This should become a habit whenever they
move into a new place and periodically to make sure the exit
route is still clear.
17
Fire Risks for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing, FEMA 1999, www.mingerfoundation.org/projects/fire-safety-info/downloadableresources/
Page 26
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
NOTES
Areas of refuge
Depending upon a building’s design, it may contain designated
areas of refuge. These are areas where people who would have
difficulty evacuating a building can gather and be protected from
18
the fire.
Even though it may not be designated as such, there may be
areas that can be used as an area of refuge, such as a large
stairwell landing. It is important that the person taking shelter
there not impeded the evacuation of others.
If the person must take shelter in an area of refuge it is vital to let
the fire department know. This can be done by a phone (some
areas of refuge may have a phone or by cell phone) or having
someone who is evacuating tell the fire fighters. It is safer to
have several people tasked with this responsibility to make sure
the message is passed.
Shelter in place
There may be situations where it is safer to “shelter in place”
because the conditions on the primary and secondary egress
routes are impassable. It is important to teach students with
disabilities what to do when they might be forced to shelter in
place.
 Close the door
 Alert someone that they are trapped by using a phone
(landline or cell), calling out the window or yelling
 Do NOT break out the window unless absolutely
necessary. The person can get injured doing this and
also it may now allow smoke to enter the room. It is OK
to open the window, if it can be closed again, to alert
people outside or for fresh air.
 Place something such as a rolled up towel at the base of
the door to stop smoke from entering the room.
 If available, putting tape on the cracks on the door will
also help stop smoke from entering the room.
 Do not reopen the door to check conditions unless
absolutely necessary. This can allow smoke and heat
into the room.
18
Ibid, p 5
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
NOTES
Smoke Alarms
Everyone should live in housing equipped with either smoke
alarms or smoke detectors. Smoke alarms/detectors provide the
early warning that is vital in reacting to a fire.
One of the biggest risk to this demographic is that the occupant
may not receive the warning early enough to react or escape
19
from the fire. This is the key to survival.
A different type of smoke alarm may be needed that is equipped
with visual warning devices, either as part of the smoke alarm or
an adjunct device that reacts to the activation of the smoke
alarm. Devices called “bed shakers” will vibrate when activated
by a building fire alarm system or the sound of a smoke alarm,
alerting the occupant when they are asleep in the bed. Today’s
building code requirements call for building fire alarm systems to
20
also be equipped with visual warning strobes. However, this is
not the case in typical residential smoke alarms and it will be
necessary to install smoke alarms that do have a strobe feature
as part of the design. In most cases, because of the power
needed to run a strobe, these have to be hard-wired smoke
alarms and not battery-operated.
Recent research done at the University of Maryland tested
people (which included a large group of deaf students from
Gallaudet University, a university in Washington for people who
are deaf or hard of hearing) who are hard of hearing and deaf in
a sleep laboratory to evaluate what type of devices were the
most effective at wakening them when they are in various stages
of sleep. Previous research had found that strobes were very
effective in waking sleeping occupants, but the latest research
found that strobes were not as effective as bed shakers. A copy
of this study is available online at
http://www.mingerfoundation.org/docs/16.
Automatic fire sprinklers
Automatic fire sprinklers will provide an unparalleled level of
safety if a fire should break out. A sprinkler system will control or
extinguish the fire and sound an alarm, providing notification to
the occupants and to the fire department. When there may be
the potential for a delayed response to a fire or an alarm,
sprinklers can provide the additional time that might be needed.
19
Ibid, p 11
Ibid, p 11
20
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NOTES
5.4 Mobility impairment
General information for students with mobility impairments
It is important to realize that students with mobility impairments
can be found anywhere and everywhere. There should not be
any assumption as to where they might be living (such as on the
first floor of a building). “People with mobility impairments
represent a segment of the population with one of the highest
21
risks of dying in a fire,” according to one government study.
The goal of the fire safety training is to provide students with
mobility impairments the information they need to keep
themselves safe through their own personal responsibility for fire
safety.
Mobility impairments can be permanent or temporary, such as a
sports injury. At some point in life, everyone will probably suffer
a mobility impairment (either temporary or permanent). Some
students have been disabled all their lives and some are “newly
disabled,” either temporarily or permanently. Those that are
22
“newly disabled” are at a higher risk of re-injuring themselves.
Depending upon the severity of the mobility impairment, the
person may be completely self-sufficient and live independently
without assistance or may require varying levels of assistance,
up to a full-time caregiver. People who may be assisting
someone with mobility impairment should also receive the same
fire safety training as the student.
The following information is in addition to that which would
normally be taught regarding egress, cooking safety, smoke
alarms and sprinklers.
21
Fire Risks for the Mobility Impaired, FEMA 1999, p 3 www.mingerfoundation.org/projects/fire-safety-info/downloadable-resources/
Ibid , p 9
22
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NOTES
Fire Prevention for students with mobility impairments
As with all demographics, preventing the fire from occurring in
23
the first place is the most effective fire prevention strategy. If
there is no fire, then there is no need for smoke alarms or
sprinklers to come into play or to need to escape from a smokefilled building.
Cooking
 Cooking is the leading cause of all residential fires and
one of the significant contributing factors is unattended
cooking.
 The area around where the student is cooking should be
clear of any combustibles such as paper towels, grocery
bags, etc.
 The student should not be wearing any loose clothing
that may catch fire such as a scarf, or a sweatshirt with
baggy sleeves.
 It is important to emphasize to all students, not just those
with disabilities, that once they start cooking they must
stay with the food until it is done. If they must leave the
room, they must turn off the appliance that they are
using (stove, oven, portable skillet, toaster oven, etc.).
Since a student with a mobility impairment may not be
able to get back to the burning food quickly, this is
particularly important.
 If a smoke alarm is accidentally activated while cooking,
use the hush feature to temporarily silence it or fan the
smoke away from the smoke alarm. Do NOT ever
remove the batteries or take down the smoke alarm –
clear out the smoke instead.
Fire Safety for students with mobility impairments
Egress
One of the biggest risk to this demographic is that the occupant
may not be able to react quickly and escape from a fire or
24
evacuate a building quickly. This is the key to survival.
Devices that are typically used by students with mobility
impairments to get into a building, such as elevators, may not be
available to them during an emergency. Elevators may be
automatically recalled to the ground floor when the building fire
alarm system is activated, leaving someone with a mobility
25
impairment trapped on an upper floor.
During the fire safety training program, the instructor and the
student should walk the entire primary and secondary evacuation
route to identify any problems that may hinder escape. This
could include elevators that are automatically recalled to the
ground floor during a fire alarm activation, doors along the
23
ibid, p 9
Ibid, p 9
25
Ibid, p 9
24
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NOTES
escape route that may not be wide enough to accommodate a
wheelchair, door hardware that is difficult to operate, obstacles
such as recycling containers that may impede movement and
stairs, to mention just a few.
Most students, when evacuating a building, usually use the same
route that they take when they enter a building and are not
familiar with a secondary route. This is the time to make the
student familiar with it. In addition, secondary routes are often
those that are not frequently used by the occupants and they
may contain a number of obstacles or storage that present a
problem during evacuation such as bicycles, recycling
containers, storage, etc. If this can’t be done with the instructor,
the student should be encouraged to do this on their own as
soon as possible. This should become a habit whenever they
move into a new place and periodically to make sure the exit
route is still clear.
Some facilities may have special evacuation chairs that can be
used to move students with mobility impairments down stairs.
This operation requires a team of people to assist the person
with mobility impairments. There are several things to keep in
mind, however:
 People using these devices need to be trained in their
operation. Will there always be a team of people
available to evacuate the occupant?
 It may take several people to transfer the student with
mobility disability from a wheelchair into the evacuation
chair.
 When the person is brought down, they will need a
wheelchair on the floor where they have been brought
to. Has this been built into the plan?
 It may not always be necessary to evacuate a student
with mobility impairments but instead shelter the person
in place in an area of refuge. This, however, is a
judgment call that must be made in consultation with
proper authorities and may depend upon the incident.
Areas of refuge
Depending upon a building’s design, it may contain designated
areas of refuge. These are areas where people who would have
difficulty evacuating a building can gather and be protected from
26
the fire.
Even though it may not be designated as such, there may be
areas that can be used as an area of refuge, such as a large
stairwell landing. It is important that the person taking shelter
there not impede the evacuation of others.
If the person must take shelter in an area of refuge, it is vital to
let the fire department know. This can be done by a phone
(some areas of refuge may have a phone or by cell phone) or by
having someone who is evacuating tell the fire fighters. It is
26
Ibid, p 5
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NOTES
safer to have several people tasked with this responsibility to
make sure the message is passed.
Shelter in place
There may be situations where it is safer to “shelter in place”
because the conditions on the primary and secondary egress
routes are impassable. It is important to teach students with
disabilities what to do when they might be forced to shelter in
place.
 Close the door
 Alert someone that they are trapped by using a phone
(landline or cell), calling out the window or yelling
 Do NOT break out the window unless absolutely
necessary. The person can get injured doing this and
also it may now allow smoke to enter the room. It is OK
to open the window, if it can be closed again, to alert
people outside or for fresh air.
 Place something such as a rolled up towel at the base of
the door to stop smoke from entering the room.
 If available, putting tape on the cracks on the door will
also help stop smoke from entering the room.
 Do not reopen the door to check conditions unless
absolutely necessary. Re-opening the door can allow
smoke and heat into the room.
Smoke alarms
Everyone should live in housing equipped with either smoke
alarms or smoke detectors. Smoke alarms/detectors provide the
early warning that is vital in reacting to a fire. Students with
mobility impairments may need assistance in installing or testing
a smoke alarm or replacing the battery each year. Some smoke
alarms are designed with a feature where a television remote
control can be used to test the smoke alarm and also to silence it
temporarily (hush feature) if it should be activated by a nonemergency condition, such as smoke from cooking. In addition,
the smoke alarm test button may be large enough and have an
indentation that allows for a broom handle or pole to be used to
test it.
Automatic fire sprinklers
Automatic fire sprinklers will provide an unparalleled level of
safety if a fire should break out. A sprinkler system will control or
extinguish the fire and sound an alarm, providing notification to
the occupants and to the fire department. When there may be
the potential for a delayed response to a fire or an alarm,
sprinklers can provide the additional time that might be needed.
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NOTES
27
5.5 Learning or developmental disorder
General information for students with learning or
developmental disorder
1 out of every 5 people have some form of a learning disorder
th
(29 Annual Report to Congress, US Department of Education,
2010) and almost 10% of college undergraduates have a
learning disorder (Heath Resource Center, 2011). Although
Learning and Developmental Disorders occur with a relatively
high frequency, it can be hard, if not impossible, to identify these
individuals upon casual meeting. These students may have one
or more learning disorders and their disorders can vary from mild
to severe. Yet they can still be very good students who are able
to function successfully in an academic environment. Students
with learning disorders process information differently from their
nondisabled peers. Some do better by reading, others by,
seeing, hearing or doing. You won’t know the best learning path
for any individual student unless they explain this to you. In
reality, this is the case for the general population – we all learn in
different ways and have different sets of strengths and
weaknesses.
In addition to the information provided earlier in the section
“Interacting with people who have a learning or developmental
disorder,” something to keep in mind is that some students with a
learning or developmental disorder may rely heavily on lists to
function. Lists provide a logical, sequential set of actions to help
guide the student in daily living and school. This strategy could
possibly be applied to fire safety as well. You could help the
student develop a list of what actions to take during an
emergency. It is important to keep in mind that this list must be
concise and not have a large number of possible scenarios in it,
as this could be confusing to the student.
During an emergency, students with learning or developmental
disorders may “shut down” because of the sensory overload
caused by the sound of the smoke alarm or building fire alarm.
They also may take instructions very literally, so if you say “wait
here for a minute” they may wait – for only a minute. On the
other hand, if you say “wait until I come back,” they may wait,
even though the conditions are deteriorating. These reactions
are most likely to occur with students who have Asperger
Disorder but can occur with students who have other learning
disorders. When teaching fire safety, it will be important to state
the obvious.
Students with learning or developmental disorders may be more
sensitive to the sound of a smoke alarm. For this reason, it is
helpful to be with them when they install or test smoke alarms
and you may have to do it for them. Having a smoke alarm that
they can practice on (that is not installed) may be helpful as well.
27
Dr. Michele Berg was a significant contributor to this section
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NOTES
The following information is in addition to that which would
normally be taught regarding egress, cooking safety, smoke
alarms and sprinklers.
Fire Prevention for students with learning or developmental
disorders
Cooking
 Cooking is the leading cause of all residential fires and
one of the significant contributing factors is unattended
cooking.
 The area around where students are cooking should be
clear of any combustibles such as paper towels, grocery
bags, etc.
 The student should not be wearing any loose clothing
that may catch fire such as a scarf, or a sweatshirt with
baggy sleeves.
 It is important to emphasize to all students, not just those
with disabilities, that once they start cooking they must
stay with the food until it is done. If they must leave the
room, they must turn off the appliance that they are
using (stove, oven, portable skillet, toaster oven, etc.).
 If a smoke alarm is accidentally activated while cooking,
use the hush feature to temporarily silence it or fan the
smoke away from the smoke alarm. Do NOT ever
remove the batteries or take down the smoke alarm –
clear out the smoke instead.
Fire Safety for students with learning or developmental
disorders
Egress
Most students, when evacuating a building, usually use the same
route that they take when they enter a building and are not
familiar with a secondary route. This is the time to make the
student familiar with any secondary routes .
Please be aware that students who have trouble with spatial
information may have a great deal of trouble locating and
following a secondary route. They may need help identifying a
secondary route. They may also need help in finding that same
secondary route in a fire situation when they are anxious or
frightened.
When possible, the student should be helped to find the
secondary route and to practice finding that route from a number
of different locations in their building. As the student practices
locating the route, the student should be encouraged to make a
written outline detailing the location of the route and landmarks
along the way to the exit.
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
NOTES
Avoid using spatial terms and directions such as left, right, north,
south as this may not be useful to students who have trouble
with spatial information. Use verbal markers. For example, the
student might write:
● The first thing to do is go to the stairwell leading to the
lobby.
● Once in the lobby, turn toward the vending machines.
● Go through the door right next to the vending machines.
● Follow the hallway to the red exit sign.
● Go through the door to the outside.
● Walk across the parking lot and wait in the front of
McCullom Hall for further instructions.
Most students, when evacuating a building, usually use the same
route that they take when they enter a building and are not
familiar with a secondary route. This is the time to make the
student familiar with it. In addition, secondary routes are often
those that are not frequently used by the occupants and they
may contain a number of obstacles or storage that present a
problem during evacuation such as bicycles, recycling
containers, storage, etc. If this can’t be done with the instructor,
the student should be encouraged to do this on their own as
soon as possible. This should become a habit whenever they
move into a new place and periodically to make sure the exit
route is still clear.
Locating secondary routes should become a habit whenever the
student moves into a new place. The student should find
someone who can help him/her to locate appropriate secondary
routes for a safe exit. The student should also make a written
note containing verbal instructions for locating and following the
route. The student should be encouraged to periodically check
to make sure all exit routes are clear. If the routes are not clear,
the student needs to know who is responsible for ensuring that
the route is clear and how to contact that person.
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NOTES
Areas of refuge
Depending upon a building’s design, it may contain designated
areas of refuge. These are areas where people who would have
difficulty evacuating a building can gather and be protected from
28
the fire.
Even though it may not be designated as such, there may be
areas that can be used as an area of refuge, such as a large
stairwell landing. It is important that the person taking shelter
there not impede the evacuation of others.
If the person must take shelter in an area of refuge it is vital to let
the fire department know. This can be done by a phone (some
areas of refuge may have a phone or by cell phone) or having
someone who is evacuating tell the fire fighters. It is safer to
have several people tasked with this responsibility to make sure
the message is passed.
Shelter in place
There may be situations where it is safer to “shelter in place”
because the conditions on the primary and secondary egress
routes are impassable. It is important to teach students with
disabilities what to do when they might be forced to shelter in
place.
 Close the door
 Alert someone that they are trapped by using a phone
(landline or cell), calling out the window or yelling
 Do NOT break out the window unless absolutely
necessary. The person can get injured doing this and
also it may now allow smoke to enter the room. It is OK
to open the window, if it can be closed again, to alert
people outside or for fresh air.
 Place something such as a rolled up towel at the base of
the door to stop smoke from entering the room.
 If available, putting tape on the cracks on the door will
also help stop smoke from entering the room.
 Do not reopen the door to check conditions unless
absolutely necessary. This can allow smoke and heat
into the room.
28
Ibid, p 5
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
NOTES
Smoke alarms
Everyone should live in housing equipped with either smoke
alarms or smoke detectors. Smoke alarms/detectors provide the
early warning that is vital in reacting to a fire. Because of their
potential sensitivity to loud noises, some students with learning
or developmental disorders may need assistance in installing or
testing a smoke alarm or replacing the battery each year. Some
smoke alarms are designed with a feature where a television
remote control can be used to test the smoke alarm and also to
silence it temporarily (hush feature) if it should be activated by a
non-emergency condition, such as smoke from cooking. In
addition, the smoke alarm test button may be large enough and
have an indentation that allows for a broom handle or pole to be
used to test it.
Automatic fire sprinklers
Automatic fire sprinklers will provide an unparalleled level of
safety if a fire should break out. A sprinkler system will control or
extinguish the fire and sound an alarm, providing notification to
the occupants and to the fire department. When there may be
the potential for a delayed response to a fire or an alarm,
sprinklers can provide the additional time that might be needed.
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
6.0 CONCLUSION
Fire safety is important for everyone, both knowing how to prevent a fire and how to react to one if it
should occur. However, a fire can be even more dangerous for people with disabilities because they may
not be alerted, or able to react, as quickly as others. This places them at a much higher risk to being
injured or killed as a result.
Knowing how to prevent a fire in the first place is the best line of defense. But as fire-safe as someone
may be, that may not always be the case with those around them, particularly in a college setting where
there are a large number of young people living together, on their own, often for the first time in their lives.
That is why someone with disabilities must constantly be aware of their surroundings and how to react
quickly, and appropriately, if an emergency should break out.
The lessons covered in this Guide are, literally, lessons for life. While hopefully these students will never
need to use this life saving information while at school, they will have had this exposure to carry with them
through the rest of their lives. They will always need to know about smoke alarms, fire sprinklers, cooking
safety and knowing two ways out, no matter where they may be.
This project is the first step in developing focused fire safety information for students with disabilities. We
are hoping that future projects will allow us to expand into other areas of fire safety and cover the
concerns of other disabilities. We appreciate the support the Fire Prevention and Safety Grant program
provided to the Minger Foundation in helping us move forward with this important effort.
There is so much more to be done and we hope the resources we have developed will provide the
groundwork for improvements in this area of fire safety. We would appreciate you sharing any research
or information on this subject with us so we can include it on the Minger Foundation’s web site
(www.mingerfoundation.org). By working together, we can make the world that much safer for people
with disabilities which will make it safer for all of us.
Thank you so much for your dedication!
Gail Minger, President
Michael H. Minger Foundation
gminger@mingerfoundation.org
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
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APPENDIX A MATRIX OF TRAINING CONCERNS
Disability
Hearing Impairment
Special Considerations
●
●
●
●
Visual Impairment
●
●
Mobility Impairment
●
●
●
●
●
Learning or
developmental
disorders
●
●
●
Logistics
Sign language interpreters
Speaking directly to the
person
Closed captioning
Visual smoke alarms/fire
alarms
●
Do not rely heavily on video
for education
All video must be narrated to
be effective
●
Do the elevators go to ground
when the building fire alarm
system is activated?
Is there a second means of
egress that is accessible?
Are there areas of refuge?
Is there a plan in place for
assisting mobility impaired?
Is the plan dependent upon
people being available to
carry it out?
●
●
●
●
●
Hardware
Hiring sign language
interpreters
Making all material closedcaptioned
●
●
Smoke alarms with strobes
Tactile devices that work in
conjunction with smoke
alarms (bed shakers)
Ensuring that all video
material also has audio
captioning
Identifying secondary means
of egress and ensuring they
are passable by people with
visual impairments
●
Computer screen readers
(although this might not be
needed during training but in
pre- and post-training
exercises.
Training teams of people and
the person with a mobility
impairment in how to use
stair chairs/evacuation chairs
Identifying secondary means
of egress and ensuring they
are passable by people with
mobility impairments
If training in the evacuation
chairs is to be done, teams of
people will need to be preidentified and made aware of
their roles and
responsibilities.
●
Evacuation chairs

Smoke alarm to help the
student become accustomed
to the sound
Repetition
Lists
address sensitivity to stimulus
issues
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
●
●
Many students with learning
disorders have trouble
generalizing what they learn
in one setting to a different
setting. The trainer should
encourage the students to
think about how their dorm or
residence is alike/different
from what has been modeled
and how they can adapt the
information to their specific
living situation.
Trainers need to be aware
that students with Nonverbal
Learning Disorder and
Asperger Disorder often have
significant difficulty
interpreting spatial
information … so the “you are
here” maps are often useless
to these students. Students
with spatial and/or directional
confusion need help thinking
about the tools/cues they
need in a fire situation. For
example, a friend or a dorm
counselor could help them
translate the exit map on their
floor into a brief written step x
step set of instructions that
does not include directions
(go to the hall, turn toward
the end of the hall with the
window, open the door next
to the window and go down
the stairs … )
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
APPENDIX B RESOURCES
Research Resources
This is a listing of the documents that have been compiled on the Minger Foundation web site
www.mingerfoundation.org as of the publication of this document. It will be regularly updated online so
the most current information can be found online.
General Topics
Emergency Evacuation Planning Guide for People
with Disabilities (NFPA, 2007, PDF 792 kb)
Evacuation Planning for Occupants with Disability
(National Research Council, Canada, Guylene
Proulx, 2002, PDF 327 kb)
Evacuation of Students with and Without Access
and Functional Needs (Webinar)
Fire Safety Solutions for People with Disabilities
(Oklahoma State University, 2007, PDF 1.9 mb)
Higher Education and Disability (General
Accounting Office, 2009, PDF, 1.82 mb)
This guide was developed in response to the
emphasis that has been placed on the need to
properly address the emergency procedure needs
of the disability community. This Guide addresses
the needs, criteria, and minimum information
necessary to integrate the proper planning
components for the disabled community into a
comprehensive evacuation planning strategy.
Considerable focus has been given in the last few
decades to accessibility while “egressability” has
not received as much attention. The concept of
“egressability” does not imply that the means of
egress should be the same for everyone, but that
there should be an equal level of life safety for
everyone. In Canada, federal and provincial
human rights legislation requires safe access and
egress from buildings for people with disabilities.
This webinar was held by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency. This presentation is on
strategies for planning and responding to the needs
of children during evacuations and features Marcie
Roth, director of the Office for Disability Integration
and Coordination at the FEdearl Emergency
Management Agency, and Richard Devylder,
Senior Advisor for Accessible Transportation at the
U.S. Department of Transportation.
This is a comprehensive overview of a smoke
alarm installation program done in Oklahoma. This
report includes detailed information on working with
people with disabilities, social etiquette, and
appropriate terminology to be used.
Research suggest that more students with
disabilities are pursuing higher education than in
years past, and recent legislative changes, such as
those in the Higher Education Opportunity Act and
Post-9/11 Veterans Education Assistance Act of
2008, have the potential to increase the number
and diversity of this population. GAO was asked to
examine (1) what is known about the population of
postsecondary students with disabilities; (2) how
postsecondary schools are supporting students
with disabilities; (3) what challenges, if any, schools
face in supporting these students; and (4) how the
Department of Education is assisting schools in
supporting these students. To conduct this work,
GAO analyzed federal survey and some state data;
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
conducted site visits; interviewed agency officials,
disability experts, school officials, and students;
and reviewed laws, regulations, and literature.
Personal Emergency Evacuation Planning
Checklist (NFPA, Microsoft Word, 204 kb)
Report on Fire Safety for Students with Disabilities
in Higher Education (Minger Foundation, 2009)
Residential Building Fires Involving Individuals with
Physical Disabilities (USFA, 2011, PDF 899 kb)
Residential Smoke Alarm Update (Oklahoma State
University, 2010, PDF 76 kb)
Social Etiquette – Tips for Firefighters who Work
with People with Disabilities (OSU, 2010, PDF 116
kb)
Writing for People with Disabilities – People-first
Checklist (OSU, 2010, PDF 117 kb)
This report, prepared under a 2008 DHS Fire
Prevention and Safety Grant, detailed the level of
fire safety education for students with disabilities
being conducted on campuses.
This is a topical study from the United States Fire
Administration outlining the contributing factors and
fires involving people with disabilities.
An update from OSU regarding the waking
characteristics of smoke alarms.
Social etiquette and working with people may seem
like common sense. But working with people with
disabilities introduced many new environmental
variables, such as service animals and interpreters.
You may find that when you work with people with
disabilities you feel uncertain of acceptable social
etiquette because the situation is new to you. By
reading this guide, you can be prepared to work
with interpreters and to respect the work of service
animals. The working experience can be positive
for everyone.
In addition, you need to learn the terms considered
improper, discriminatory, and out-of-date, so you
can avoid insulting people with disabilities. If you
use these terms you are demonstrating a lack of
respect because such terms cause hurt feelings.
As in any working relationship, hurt feelings can
lead to a lack of cooperation, which could lead to
the failure of this program
Easy modifications to your writing style will ensure
you communicate effectively with people with
disabilities.
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Hard of Hearing and Deaf
Fire Risks for the Deaf or Hard of Hearing (USFA,
1999, PDF, 302 KB)
Plain Language Checklist when Writing for People
who are Deaf (Oklahoma State University 58 kb)
Residential Smoke Alarms for People who are Deaf
or Hard of Hearing and People with Disabilities
(OSU, 2011, PDF 25 kb)
Waking effectiveness of emergency alerting
devices for the hearing able, hard of hearing and
deaf populations (University of Maryland, 2007,
PDF, 1.1 mb)
People who are deaf or have hearing impairments,
those who are blind or have vision impairments,
and those with mobility impairments may face
unique challenged in an emergency. Their ability to
detect a fire or escape its effects may be hindered
by their impairments. As a result, people with
these impairments are at a greater risk of death or
injury due to fire.
Plain language ensures that your audience can
understand not only the technical terms and
concepts but also the directions and descriptions
you provide. Writing in a concise form with an
emphasis on the most important information will
help your audience understand your meaning and
engage more fully in the concepts.
Recent studies of the wakefulness of different
alerts conclude that a strobe light is not effective in
waking hard of hearing adults or young adults who
are moderately alcohol impaired. There is no study
to confirm this with people who are deaf.
These recent studies indicate that a tactile alert
device (bed shaker) is effective in waking adults
who are hard of hearing and that a square wave
lower frequency sound is effective in waking these
adults as well as young adults who are moderately
alcohol impaired.
The study presented measures the awakening
effectiveness of a number of commercially
available emergency alerting devices. Three
groups of varying hearing levels were tested:
hearing able, hard of hearing, and deaf. The
devices evaluated are a typical audible smoke
detector, a strobe light, and a bed shaker. The
subjects were monitored for sleep stage during the
single night tests and the emergency alerting
devices were activated in Stage 2, Delta and REM
stages of sleep.
Results indicate that the audible smoke detector
was most effective for the hearing able population
and least effective for the deaf population. The
recommended alternative to the audible smoke
detector, the strobe, was the least effective device
when measured against the total United States
population. The vibratory tactical devices were
most effective across all hearing categories and
sleep states. When the tactile signal of the bed
shaker was modified to vibrate intermittently, all
persons were effectively aroused.
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Learning and Developmental Disorders
Residential Building Fires Involving Individuals with
Mental Disabilities (USFA, 2011, PDF 744 kb)
What are the Fire Safety Education Needs for
Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders
(Executive Fire Officer paper, 2011, 255 kb)
A topical study issued by the United States Fire
Administration looking at the contributing factors
and statistics for fires involving people with mental
disabilities.
A National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer
paper written by Tim Leidig, a fire office and father
of an autistic child.
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
Mobility Impairments
Fire Risks for the Mobility Impaired (USFA, 1999,
PDF 376 kb)
Risk Reduction Factors of the Mobility Impaired
Residents of Sweetwater County Fire District 1
(EFO paper, PDF 193 kb)
World Trade Center Disaster, Occupant Behavior,
Egress and Emergency Communications (NIST,
2005 PDF 4.3 mb)
Vision Impairments
Fire Risks for the Blind or Visually Impaired (USFA,
1999 PDF 385 kb)
People who are deaf or have hearing impairments,
those who are blind or have vision impairments,
and those with mobility impairments may face
unique challenges in an emergency. Their ability to
detect a fire or escape its effects may be hindered
by their impairments. As a result, people with
these impairments are at a greater risk of death or
injury due to fire.
A National Fire Academy Executive Fire Officer
paper looking at the issues concerning residents
with mobility impairments in a fire district in
Wyoming.
A study conducted by the National Institute of
Standards and Technology on the human behavior
factors of the World Trade Center disaster,
including looking at people with disabilities.
People who are deaf or have hearing impairments,
those who are blind or have vision impairments,
and those with mobility impairments may face
unique challenges in an emergency. Their ability to
detect a fire or escape its effects may be hindered
by their impairments. As a result, people with
these impairments are at a greater risk of death or
injury due to fire.
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
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APPENDIX C PERSONAL EMERGENCY EVACUATION PLANNING CHECKLIST
Name:
Primary Location:
Building (home, office, etc.):
Primary Phone:
Address:
Cell
Phone:
Floor:
Service Animal:
E-mail:
Yes
No
OCCUPANT NOTIFICATION
Type of
Emergency
Method or Device for Notification
Fire:
Earthquake:
Flood:
Storm:
Attack:
Other (specify):
YES
NO
N/A
Comments
Are there emergency notification devices (alarms,
etc.) appropriate for this person?
Does this person know the location of each
emergency notification device/system and
understand its meaning/function?
Does this person know how to sound the alert for
emergencies (manual pull box alarms, public
address systems, radio, telephones)?
If telephones are used to report emergencies, are
emergency numbers posted near telephones, on
employee notice boards, or in other conspicuous
locations?
Is there a way for a person with a hearing or speech
impairment to report an emergency?
If the communication system also serves as an
alarm system, do all emergency messages have
priority over all non-emergency messages?
Is there a unique signal (sound, light, header) to
indicate an emergency message?
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WAY FINDING
YES
NO
N/A
Comments
Is there a usable way out?
Where is it? (List all and indicate nearest.)
Where is the established outside meeting place?
Is the usable circulation path clearly marked to
show the route to leave the building or to relocate
to some other space within the building in an
emergency?
If a person exiting a doorway or turning a corner
could inadvertently be directed into the path of a
moving vehicle, is a safeguarding device with a
warning sign in place?
If the stairs in the circulation path lead anywhere
but out of the building, are doors, partitions, or
other effective means used to show the correct
route out of the building?
Do doors used to connect any room to a circulation
path have proper maneuvering clearances?
Can the doors be easily unlatched?
Do exterior circulation paths (balcony, porch,
gallery, roof) meet the preceding four
requirements?
Does the exterior circulation path have guardrails
to protect open sides of walking surfaces?
Is the exterior circulation path smooth, solid, and a
substantially level travel surface?
Does the exterior circulation path not branch off
and head away from the public way?
Is each exit marked with a clearly visible sign
reading “EXIT” in all forms (visual, tactile,
Braille)?
Is every doorway or passage that might be
mistaken for an exit marked “NOT AN EXIT” or
with an indication of its actual use in all forms
(visual, tactile, Braille)?
Are signs posted and arranged along circulation
paths to adequately show how to get to the nearest
exit?
Do the signs clearly indicate the direction of travel
in all forms (visual, tactile, Braille)?
Do brightly lit signs, displays, or objects in or near
the line of vision not obstruct or distract attention
from exit signs, particularly for people with low
vision?
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Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
USE OF THE WAY
YES
NO
N/A
Comments
NO
N/A
Comments
Are circulation paths always free of obstructions,
including furniture and equipment, so everyone can
safely exit the building during an emergency?
Are people not required to travel through a room
that can be locked, such as a restroom?
Do all interior doors, other than fire doors, readily
open from the inside without keys, tools, or special
knowledge and require less than 5 pounds of force
to unlatch and set the door in motion?
Are exit signs not obstructed or concealed in any
way, particularly for people with vision
impairments who need to find and feel the sign?
Are exit doors kept free of items that obscure the
visibility of exit signs or that may hide visual,
tactile, or Braille signage?
Is the emergency escape path clear of obstacles
caused by construction or repair ?
Does the circulation path maintain a clear height of
6 feet 8 inches at all points?
Do objects that stick out into the circulation path,
such as ceiling fans and wall cabinets, not reduce
the minimum height and width of the circulation
path?
Are usable circulation paths at least 32 inches wide
for any segment less than 24 inches in length and
36 inches for all segments 24 inches or longer?
Is each usable circulation path a permanent part of
the facility?
If the circulation path is not substantially level, are
occupants provided with appropriate stairs or a
ramp?
Do building circulation paths lead to a public way, that is:
Directly outside or to a street or walkway?
To an area of refuge and from there to a public
way?
To an open space with access to the outside?
To streets, walkways, or open spaces large
enough to accommodate all building occupants
likely to use the exit?
TYPE OF ASSISTANCE NEEDED
YES
Can the person evacuate himself or herself with a
device or aid?
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What is the specific device or aid?
Where is the device or aid located?
Does the person need assistance to evacuate?
What does the assistant(s) need to do?
Does the assistant(s) need any training?
Has the training been completed?
Where will the assistant(s) meet the person
requiring assistance?
When will the person requiring assistance contact
the assistant(s)?
Number of Assistants Needed
How many assistants are needed?
How will the assistant(s) be contacted in an emergency?
Name
Phone
Cell Phone
E-mail
Assistant 1
Assistant 2
Assistant 3
Assistant 4
Assistant 5
Assistant 6
SERVICE ANIMAL
YES
NO
Comments
Has the person discussed with emergency management
personnel his or her preferences with regard to evacuation
and handling of the service animal?
Has the person thought about under what circumstances a
decision may have to be made about leaving the service
animal behind?
What is the best way to assist the service animal if it
becomes hesitant or disoriented?
Do first responders have a copy of the detailed
information for the service animal?
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
YES
NO
Comments
Where are extra food and supplies kept for the service
animal?
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Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities
Michael H. Minger Foundation (www.mingerfoundation.org)
APPENDIX D RESIDENTIAL SMOKE ALARMS FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE DEAF OR
HARD OF HEARING AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
(Updated August 2011. Prepared by Oklahoma State University. Used by permission, Nancy
Trench, OSU, ntrench@osufpp.org)
Fire Protection Publications (FPP) at Oklahoma State University has been installing smoke
alarms for people with disabilities in Oklahoma for almost 7 years. The following is a summary
of the current status of smoke alarms being used by FPP and our grant partners.
Previous editions of NFPA 72 required a high intensity strobe light in sleeping rooms to
alert/wake people who are deaf. The strobe light requirement of 177 candela (cd) if the signal is
placed within 24 inches of the ceiling or 110 cd if placed more than 24 inches from the ceiling
(Table 18.5.4.6.2 NFPA 72, 2010).
Recent studies of the wakefulness of different alerts conclude that a strobe light is not effective
in waking hard of hearing adults or young adults who are moderately alcohol impaired. There is
no study to confirm this finding with adults who are deaf.
These recent studies indicate that a tactile alert device (bed shaker) is effective in waking adults
who are hard of hearing and that a square wave lower frequency sound is effective in waking
these adults as well as young adults who are moderately alcohol impaired.
These recent studies also document that the current temporal three high frequency 3100 Hz
alert sound required by UL 217 for smoke alarms in the US is the least effective in waking
people.
Residential Smoke Alarms are primarily intended to wake people to fires while they are sleeping
and give them time to escape. Most home fire deaths are at night during the time most people
are sleeping. Smoke alarms also alert people to fires during waking hours while they are in the
home.
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FACT SHEET
Current edition of the code
NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling
Code, 2010 Edition.
Smoke alarms for homes
Chapter 29 Single- and Multiple-Station
Alarms and Household Fire Alarm Systems
Paragraph concerning people with hearing loss
29.3.8 Notification appliances provided in
sleeping people with hearing loss rooms
and guest rooms for those with hearing loss
shall comply with 29.3.8.1 and 29.3.8.2
29.3.8.1 Mild to Severe Hearing Loss –
required to provide a low-frequency alarm
signal in the sleeping room. The low
frequency signal must be a square wave
frequency of 520 Hz. This signal (sound)
can be produced by a smoke alarm or a
separate notification appliance.
29.3.8.2 Profound Hearing Loss-a tactile
notification (uses touch or vibration)
appliance and the previously required high
intensity strobe light.
UL 217
UL 217 Single and Multiple Station Smoke
Alarms
UL 1971
UL 1971 Signaling Devices for the Hearing
Impaired
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NFPA 72 Definitions
Hearing Loss - A full or partial decrease in
the ability to detect or comprehend sounds.
The severity of hearing loss is measured by
the degree of loudness, as measured in
decibels, a sound must attain before being
detected by an individual. Hearing loss can
be ranked as mild, moderate, severe, or
profound. It is quite common for someone to
have more than one degree of hearing loss
(e.g., mild sloping to severe). The following
list shows the rankings and their
corresponding decibel ranges:
Mild: For adults: between 25 and 40 dB For
children: between 15 and 40 dB
Moderate between 41 and 55 dB
Moderately severe between 56 and 70 dB
Severe between 71 and 90 dB
Profound 90 dB or greater
Household Fire Alarm System - A system
of devices that uses a fire alarm control unit
to produce an alarm signal in the household
for the purpose of notifying the occupants of
the presence of a fire so that they will
evacuate the premises.
Notification Appliance - A fire alarm
system component such as a bell, horn,
speaker, light, or text display that provides
audible, tactile, or visible outputs, or any
combination thereof. (SIG-NAS)
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Equipment Search Results
LIFETONE HLAC100 and HLAC150 – AC powered tactile and signaling device activated by
any standard residential smoke alarm. It emits a low frequency alert sound and tactile alert bed
shaker. The LIFETONE has 7 day back up battery life. It is UL 217 and UL 1971 listed. This
device is to be located by the head of the bed and is activated by a standard T-3 sound
(temporal-three three beeps and a pause) 3100 Hz alert from a smoke alarm. LIFETONE setup
requires testing of the most remote smoke alarm.
SafeAwake - works in conjunction with a standard smoke detector. It “listens” for the sound
from your smoke detector. It activates an intermittent, motor-driven bed shaker which vibrates
the bed and emits a high-decibel, low frequency (500Hz) audible signal. Also flashes a white
light. It is UL 217 and UL 1971 listed by ETL. SafeAwake includes a battery backup that will
keep SafeAwake working for up to 24 hours if the power is off. When testing your smoke alarms
the SafeAwake alerts for 2 full minutes.
The Loudenlow is a battery powered ionization smoke alarm with a low frequency high decibel
sound. Three battery powered models are on the web site. These models use 6 AA batteries
requiring 12 month replacement. Web site says: “Uses U.L. listed ionization chamber and
detection circuitry”. This does not mean the Loudenlow is UL 217 listed. The equipment is not
currently in the online certification directories for verification.
Silent Call models 318 Mhz and 418 Mhz are battery powered (12 month) photoelectric smoke
alarms with wireless transmitters and bedside receivers. Receivers activate 110 candela strobe
light and optional bed vibrator. Back up battery available and sold separately. Receivers can
also alert to other devices such as telephone and doorbell with different vibrator pulse patterns.
The web site offers other options. Some Silent Call equipment is ETL listed.
Krown Manufacturing device is a transmitter attached to the outside of a smoke alarm and the
transmitter sends a signal to the receiving device which has strobe, optional bed shaker and
other features such as back up battery. Not currently found in the online certifications directories
for verification of listing.
There may be other products on the market. You can check for equipment listing at these sites:
Underwriters Laboratory( UL):
www.UL.com
Intertek (ETL)
www.intertek.com
Click Certifications in the red heading area on the
home page. See On-line Certification Directory.
Enter search criteria.
See bottom of screen for Product Directories and
click. Then click on ETL Listed Mark Directory and
enter search criteria.
OSU selected the First Alert SA302CN Dual sensor (photoelectric and ionization) long life
battery smoke alarms that can be tested and silenced with a TV remote control for installation in
Oklahoma.
Many people who are deaf or hard of hearing are older adults and may have other disabilities.
This remote control feature allows them to test and silence their alarms.
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People who are blind may need to silence a smoke alarm to use common household sounds to
navigate their escape.
People who use mobility devices can test their own smoke alarms without assistance.
The current pricing for our projects when purchased in large quantities is $24.50 no shipping.
______________________________________________________________________
OSU selected the LIFTONE HLAC100 and HLAC150 for our projects. The current pricing for our
projects when purchased in large quantities is $75. This includes the per unit shipping cost.
______________________________________________________________________
For people with profound hearing loss, an AC powered smoke alarm with visual alert is being
installed. These smoke alarms are primarily being installed outside the sleeping area or in a
living space for visual notification during the day time or waking hours. Currently the Gentex
7139LS is being used. The current pricing for our projects is $110 no shipping.
More from NFPA 72, 2010
18.4.5.3* Effective January 1, 2014, where audible appliances are provided to produce signals
for sleeping areas, they shall produce a low frequency alarm signal that complies with the
following:
 The alarm signal shall be a square wave or provide equivalent awakening ability.

The wave shall have a fundamental frequency of 520 Hz ± 10 percent.
29.4 Assumptions.
29.4.1 Occupants. The requirements of this chapter shall assume that occupants are not
intimate with the ignition and are capable of self-rescue.
29.4.2 Escape Route.
29.4.2.1 The requirements of this chapter shall assume that the occupants have an escape
plan. 29.4.2.2 An escape route shall be assumed to be available to occupants and to be
unobstructed prior to the event of the fire.
29.4.2.3 The escape route shall be along the normal path of egress for the occupancy.
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From the NFPA Appendix:
NFPA 72 is intended to provide reasonable fire safety for persons in family living units.
Reasonable fire safety can be produced through the following three-point program:
(1.)Minimizing fire hazards
(2.)Providing fire-warning equipment
(3.)Having and practicing an escape plan
Minimizing Fire Hazards. This Code cannot protect all persons at all times. For instance, the
application of this Code might not provide protection against the following three traditional fatal
fire scenarios:
(1.)Smoking in bed
(2.)Leaving children home alone
(3.)Cleaning with flammable liquids, such as gasoline
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